MP John Mnyika`s fate to be known on May 24

The High Court in Dar es Salaam will on May 24, this year, give judgement in a poll petition challenging the victory of incumbent Ubungo member of Parliament John Mnyika (Chadema).

The petition was filed by the CCM candidate in the election, Hawa Ngh'umbi, challenging the poll result in the general election held in 2010.

Presiding Judge Upendo Msuya on Friday issued the date of judgment after the counsel for both the petitioner and the respondent had finished giving their final submissions.

In their submission Mnyika’s counsel, Edson Mbogoro, and state attorney Justus Mlokozi, for the Attorney General, asked the court to dismiss the claims made by Ngh’umbi, claiming that she had failed to prove them beyond reasonable doubt.

In the judgment Judge Professor Ibrahimu Juma threw away Mpendazoe’s claims, saying that he had failed to prove them beyond any reasonable doubt after failing to submit necessary documents and some key witnesses.

Mbogoro claimed that although Mnyika admitted the existence of 14,000 defective votes, he said if the court distributed them among the candidates instead of nullifying th result, his client would still come out the winner.

Mulokozi claimed that the petitioner had failed to explain how the said votes and other irregularities would affect the result of that election.

In response, Hawa Ng’humbi’s counsel, Issa Maige, said that his client had proved the claims as required by the law.

He alleged that the election supervisor should announce the correct results and declare the deserving winner, who was his client.